Friday, August 14, 2009

SPEED Rules Friday's NASCAR TV

Just set it and forget it. SPEED rules the NASCAR TV on Friday from noon ET through 8PM. The network will handle all the on-track activity at MIS.

The dynamic trio for SPEED will be Steve Byrnes, Jeff Hammond and Larry McReynolds. These three have been friends for a very long time and their comfort level with each other translates quite well to TV.

Bob Dillner and Wendy Venturini will be doing a lot of walking as they spend seven hours tracking down the Sprint Cup and Nationwide stories from the garage area. Venturini continues to grow her fan base while Dillner is usually the last man out of the garage area after he provides updates for Sunday night's SPEED Report.

Noon begins the TV day with Sprint Cup Series practice while the Nationwide Series gets on the track next at 1:30PM. There are a lot of Cup drivers who will be jogging to the Nationwide Series garage while doing double duty this weekend.

3:30PM brings live qualifying for the Cup guys and on the big track at MIS, this is perhaps not the most exciting TV programming. Luckily, McReynolds usually has more than enough details and tidbits on each team to help NASCAR fans pass the time on the air.

The on-track action is capped at 5PM when the Nationwide Series returns for the late practice session. This could be a very interesting practice with lots of rubber down on the track and cooler temps making for some memorable speed and action.

Trackside ends the night for SPEED. Byrnes, McReynolds, Hammond and Elliott Sadler will welcome guests Joey Logano and Justin Allgaier. Kasey Kahne may also possibly be stopping by to say hello. This is always a fast-paced hour but SPEED is still having problems dealing with the rowdy crowds during the interview segments. Really tough to hear what is going on sometimes, an issue SPEED will no doubt have to address for next season.

ESPN2 makes its only Friday contribution with NASCAR Now at 9PM. This show is on the air later than normal due to live tennis. Mike Massaro is the host for this program that will recap the MIS action and preview the Nationwide race on Saturday.

This post will host your comments as we go through the NASCAR TV Friday. It should be fun to watch SPEED cover MIS exclusively. The weather looks good and there are some great stories developing both on and off the track for the network to cover.

To add your TV-related comments, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

And guess what? Weather won't be an issue this weekend. Sunny skies for the Michigan International Speedway area all weekend. Maybe a bit on the warm side, though....87 today for a high....90 on Saturday, and 92 on Sunday. But sure beats the wet stuff!

I'd bet money the first thing out of someone's mouth in 15 min will be, "NO RAIN in the forecast!" YEAH!! I still like SPEED's coverage best, they feel more like hanging out at the track with a bunch of friends than media- and get great interviews. Yeah it can get a bit silly at times but Wendy V is just fab, and I really like JR and the Sadlers.

I can't believe the lack of knowledge about the NW series that the crew in the booth has. "I just saw that the 96 is fielded by Bob K. Brian sometimes drives it." Really? Anyone who follows the NW series knows that. Those that follow the NW series weren't surprised to see Bliss in the 87.

I wonder if NASCAR would be father ahead if they simply had a deal with Speed/Fox to do all of the broadcasts. Even if they didn't get as much money from the deal, I have to think that it would still be better in the long run. I know, I know, FOX has the NFL, but what if those conflicts were resolved by moving the race to SPEED or more SUN night races? Maybe Speed isn't in as many households as ESPN, but I would be willing to bet they would get comparable ratings. As others have noted today and in the past, there is a definite comfort level between the drivers and the Speed/Fox reporters.

I don't have the stats to prove or disprove my theory. This is just the opinion of a race fan.

the only S&P car I didn't mind seeing last week was the 90. Whatever points Bliss can hang onto, I don't blame him.

BTW, JC Stout is running a family team with no sponsor...all his friends and family are crew and he just tries to make enough money to get to the next race (he's not S&P). That's who I feel bad for with these S&P teams making the race.

just remember that the reason they can rerun them is because they don't have a ton of programming. Well, they could show Pinks or Wrecked...but I don't think their ratings are probably that great for either (compared to ESPN.)

but no, in ESPN's defense this time, I have to say, carrying other original sporting events is more important that rerunning Q. That said, I do find it convenient, and they cover it well.